


Twenty-One

by meadea



Category: TREASURE (Korea Band)
Genre: Feelings Realization, Fluff, M/M, jihoon emcee, jikyu carbon copies, junkyu aegyo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 11:34:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30038079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meadea/pseuds/meadea
Summary: It's been awhile since Jihoon was able to sit down with his thoughts. And he's always been curious of that backdoor at the dorm anyway.
Relationships: Kim Junkyu/Park Jihoon
Comments: 7
Kudos: 45





	Twenty-One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimah: i have neither access or blueprint to treasure's dorm nor do I have any affiliations with any of the YG staff. This fic is as fictional as the backdoor.
> 
> . . .
> 
> Or is it?

Jihoon stretched out his feet into the cold night, letting the chill try and bite into his skin. A small smile formed in his lips, and he threw his head back as he closed his eyes. He moaned in pleasure. He was sitting on the doorstep by the backdoor, leaning back with both hands on the marble floor. 

The Soju bottle sat beside him, like a little company. A quiet inanimate friend. 

Jihoon stretched his neck, opened his eyes, then he looked down at the bottle. Sitting straight he picked it up, held it up to his face to peer through the jaded glass. 

It was half-drained. 

Putting it back down, Jihoon smiled to himself. One of the staff had given it to him. He was from Busan, too. He was the reason why Jihoon had finally taken the time to go down here. He’d told Jihoon he would help him mark his twenty-first, Busan-way: “ _Come down when you can.”_

Apparently, _the_ Soju would mark it. 

“ _But I don’t want you to go back to your room tipsy_ ,” he’d told Jihoon, “ _so I poured myself some.”_

Jihoon bit his lower lip now, bit back a smile, as he looked down at _it_. He swallowed. And when he caught himself, he chuckled. Finally he took a sip of it. 

He grimaced. It wasn’t his first time. But it had been awhile.

Jihoon squinted through the darkness that enveloped what laid beyond the backdoor. It was a vacant lot. And though he couldn’t really see it, he could make out the small humps on the ground.

He could see the silhouettes of the shrubs that grew from it, or regrew because they had probably mowed it before, but the constant visitation of the fog at night had helped grow them back.

_How do you grow a relationship back? How do you clear it of the fog?_

Jihoon’s mind filled with the events that had taken place an hour ago and had ultimately led him here. The cheers, the greetings, embraces, balloons, confettis. 

He had underestimated it all, underestimated the power of friendship that bound him with his brothers—from another mothers, that is.

With everything that had been coming his way of late. . . Emceeing, gaining more fans, and having the old fans to finally take him seriously and see him as the leader that he was. . . and the added attention those had brought. . . he’d thought—no, he’d feared—that those things would alienate him from what he’d gotten used to, steer him away from what was familiar.

And he’d feared he’d get used to that.

Like he’d gotten used to watching Kim Junkyu and Yoshinori have their fun all the time. Right in his face.

Reflexively Jihoon sipped on the bottle. He sniffed, his eyes watering at the effect. He felt his insides burn. He chuckled. 

_This is effective_ , he thought.

But maybe not so much. Because now he could see it right in front of him again, like a projected film, reminding him of the price he’d had to pay for letting things get out of his hand.

 _But that’s unfair_.

It wasn’t like it was his choice not to share the same floor with Junkyu. He had asked. But it was the management’s decision.

 _That’s unfair_.

And he’d tried to handle it, too. He’d tried to get Yoshinori instead to be in his group, so that. . .

 _But not everything goes the way you wish it does_.

He laughed quietly to himself. And realizing this was silly, because he was laughing alone, he laughed even more. Shaking his head, he sipped on the Soju again. He hissed, then he smiled at the bottle, like it just told him a joke.

He looked back to what he’d been doing. . . as a host. . . copying Junkyu’s moves: his aegyo, his silly bows. . . his pouts.

When he was on stage he’d thought it was merely because he was not good at it—at those things. Junkyu did them well. And though Jihoon had shown otherwise, he’d always thought Junkyu was cute doing them. So he’d just started doing them, too. 

He and Junkyu didn’t talk about it. When they saw each other after the first time he’d done it, they’d only exchanged knowing smiles. Jihoon felt embarrassed doing them.

Now he was realizing why he had kept doing them. 

It was like a cry for help. To Junkyu. It was Jihoon’s way—without even realizing—of trying to reconnect with Junkyu. Sending him a message, as if to say:

_Watch me. I know you better. I know you too well. You and I are. . ._

Jihoon took another chug, his Adam’s apple bobbing twice. Then grimacing he took the bottle away from his lips, his cheeks puffing, one eye squinting. He swallowed. Then, burping, he peered through the bottle again.

He smiled. He’d almost drained it _._

Deciding to finish it, he held up the bottle once more and inched it closer to his lips. That was when he heard the soft, slow thuds from behind.

And he spun, eyes wide.

And he found himself looking at Junkyu, who was crouching, and pursing his lips as if trying to keep himself from laughing.

But then he broke out laughing, falling to his knees. Jihoon smiled, frowning.

“I wanted to startle you,” said Junkyu as he got to his feet now. He rubbed his knees of invisible dirt, then jogged toward Jihoon like a kid. 

When he saw the bottle in Jihoon’s hand, he gasped wide-eyed, then dramatically raised his hand to put it over his mouth while the other pointed at the bottle.

Jihoon snorted, looking outside. Junkyu bent down to sit but Jihoon was occupying the whole space, so he playfully pushed Jihoon by the shoulder. Jihoon, smiling, didn’t budge.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Junkyu freeze, and Jihoon was sure if his gaze could blast fire it could have burned Jihoon’s face right there.

Then he saw Junkyu sprang to his feet, saying, “Fine.”

Jihoon, laughing, grabbed Junkyu’s hand and pulled him down. Jihoon scooted to make some space. Still, it wasn’t much, so now they were sandwiched together by either sides of the doorframe.

“Where did you get that?” Jihoon heard Junkyu ask. 

Jihoon thought of how he could answer that with the shortest possible answer, but he found he was tired. So he just said, “It’s a secret.”

Junkyu scoffed. 

Jihoon turned to look at Junkyu’s face to say something, and so close was his face to his that Jihoon was sure he could smell the moisturizer Junkyu had used on his face. “Why are you here?”

Junkyu turned to look at him, too, but immediately turned his gaze away when he realized their faces were two closed; they were technically breathing on each other. 

Jihoon waited. But Junkyu didn’t answer. Jihoon didn’t know how he found that funny but he chuckled, turning away.

Then, taking his chances, Jihoon said, “I miss Kim Junkyu.”

And he patted his back for managing to do it wisely. Safely.

The night blew a breeze on Jihoon’s face when Junkyu said, “I miss Park Jihoon.”

Jihoon’s heart began to pound. He wanted to smile, but his lips turned stiff. He also felt his body begin to heat up. 

_It’s the alcohol._

But unable to help himself anymore, he looked. He looked at Junkyu’s face. “Really?” his lips muttered before he could catch himself.

Slowly he saw Junkyu’s face to look at him, too. But he didn’t say anything, just looked at him, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He then turned away, saying, “I’ve always wondered where this backdoor led. . .”

Jihoon looked away, too, into the darkness. “Yeah,” he said, “me, too.”

Silence stretched as the two of them sat there, blinking at nothingness, lulled by the occasional sweeping of the wind. Junkyu’s skin was cold against Jihoon’s, and Jihoon just wanted to take Junkyu’s hand in him, entwined his fingers with his.

 _You’re twenty-one_. _Man up_.

Jihoon turned to look at Junkyu’s face. “Junkyu.”

Junkyu looked at him, eyebrows raised. He was chewing on his lower lip. 

_Screw it. He can hate me forever._

Jihoon stood up, jumped into the night. Then he turned to look at Junkyu who was looking curiously at him. Jihoon sniffed. 

He walked closer to Junkyu then bent to face him. He opened his mouth to say it, but he couldn’t. So he stood up again. 

Then he stretched out his hand for Junkyu to take it. Junkyu looked at it at first.

Then he took it. And Jihoon pulled him to his feet. He stood there, frowning at Jihoon. 

Heart pounding, Jihoon put one foot past Junkyu but only so he could reach for the door knob. And when he’d grasped it, he began pulling it close. But not entirely.

“What are you doing?” chuckled Junkyu.

Jihoon looked at him. “The thing is,” he said, “I turned twenty-one today and. . . and I want to do something to remember it by. . . and I. . . I really want to kiss you. . .”

Junkyu stared at him, and though it was hard to tell, he knew Junkyu must be blushing right now. He always did. 

“. . . I’m going to close this door now,” Jihoon went on, “slowly. And if you don’t stop me. . . I’ll take it as a yes.”

Jihoon let a few seconds pass. Then slowly he began to pull the door close. Very slowly. 

He stopped when Junkyu’s head turned to look at it. Then he turned back to look at Jihoon, saying, “Go on. . . close the door.”

Jihoon’s heart rate picked up. In a heartbeat he closed the door completely. Then grabbing Junkyu by the waist, he kissed him. 

And Junkyu reciprocated, sealing it by locking both arms around Jihoon’s neck.

 _What a night to be twenty-one_.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this u guys. I miss them too x>
> 
> Happy Birthday Leader Panda! I know u can't take Junkyu to Busan just yet. Got that covered! 
> 
> ><
> 
> Hoping to see some real jikyu action on the next episode of T-Map. Let's manifest u guys!
> 
> Oh. And NLSB's next chap will be up before u know it :) Time to. . . 'clear it of fog'.
> 
> ^^


End file.
